Went with this because after my RC 4'' kit was installed, I was 1'' low in the rear. This came about 40-50 bucks cheaper than blocks and gives me a slight bump in payload. Also didn't seem a whole lot harder than blocks as far as install.........or so I thought.

Finally got a good weekend to tackle this project with my dad. Although like with the lift kit, I probably could have just had a shop do it in 2-3 hours. Gave us an excuse to go tool shopping again I guess.

Things went fine until we had to take out the existing leaf pack bolts. They would not come out and just spun. So we had to cut them....with a battery powered reciprocating saw because it is all we had. Broke one blade and had to wait for battery charges even though we had 2 going. Had to do this on the other side as well, but it went a little smoother.

All in all, it took us about 6-7 hours with hand tools. A less stressful situation for an office guy like me to get my hands dirty again and spend a day with theo old man. My rear now sits 1.25'' high (+2.25'') compared to before. Now I am prepared for winter where I can throw a few sand tubes in the back without making it squat. Even if the leaf settles a little over time, I think I will still be happy.

(no pic on hand tonight)

 

Just a reminder, nothing you add to the truck will increase your payload capacity. It may give you better piece of mind when hauling heavy loads, but you are still legally bound by the numbers on the factory sticker. A lot of people don't realize this. If you do decide to overload the vehicle and you happen to get into an accident, you can be denied coverage by your insurance or worse if there were injuries/fatalities.

 

Yeah it'll make it feel a helluva lot better but your legal capacity is what's on the sticker. Nothing will change that.


Got some pics?!

 

I know you pain from experience. I ended up using a dremel tool to cut out the oem leaf pack bolts.

 

Best way to deal with those center bolts, is called angle grinder. It'll zip them right off. You don't need a megabuck one like my Metabo, but I think Harbor Freight, [Herbies Fright], sells them pretty cheaply.
Cut vertically down through nut and pin almost to the leaf. Take hammer and chisel and split nut the rest of the way, 5 minutes max.

 

It's always more satisfying when you do things yourself, plus spending time with your dad like that is priceless.

 

Steve, you say you got 2 1/4" lift out of the AAL? Which did you go with, the long leaf? Kickin around going back to stock block and adding the AAL myself.

 

This is the kit I bought.

http://www.stage3motorsports.com/131...-Leaf-Kit.html


I'll take the confidence in pushing my existing 1500ish lb payload at least. Its not like I was going to immediately go out and dump 2000+ lbs of dirt in it. Again, for the cost and the lift included....it was the better deal. A 4'' block kit is ~$167. Would have only given me +.75'' roughly over my existing 2"+1.25" stacked block setup from the lift kit.

And yes, angle grinder! Keep forgetting to get one of those.

 

I did this with my dad about a month ago on my truck. It's amazing how much time you save when the leaf pack bolts come right out. Truck rides much better all around now with icons all around and a firmer ride in the back.

 

I did this too a couple of weeks ago when I added the Fox 2.0's in the rear. I gained almost 2.5" and ended up pulling out the stock 1.25" block to get it to sit right.

I had no issues with the center pin bolts, my issue was lifting the rear high enough to drop the axle and slide in the new springs. Very happy with the AAL's, truck doesn't squat when I put a few hundred pounds in the box now.